Friday, July 29, 2005

IMBB #17: Tempest in a Teacup

For the 17th edition of Is My Blog Burning?, the theme is tasteTea, as dreamt up by the inimitable Clement of a la cuisine! . Irresolution being a particular specialty of mine, I decided to embrace the vast possibilities of tea as an ingredient by composing a meal. Or, in other words, I totally copped out of having to make an ultimate choice. But seriously, indecisiveness aside, I'm fascinated by chakaiseki, the elaborate procession of seasonal dishes that's part of the chaji, the full formal Japanese tea ceremony. I am also partial to the French art of tea as gloriously embodied by Mariage Freres, the venerable Maison de The whose fabulously appointed tea salons, discriminate selection of the world's most exquisite teas, and magical tea-infused menus (everything from financier to fish is subtly spiked with tea) make it a must-visit in Paris. In designing my modest menu, I wanted each dish to feature both a different tea and a different manner of using tea to impart flavour.

Oolong Tea EggsOne of my favourite ways of enjoying hard-cooked eggs, these beautifully marbled orbs look stunning when piled into a bowl, like so many exotic objets d'art. Their extraordinary appearance is acquired by steeping hard-cooked eggs - gently tapped with a heavy spoon to create a fine web of hairline cracks without actually removing any shell - in a barely trembling hot bath flavoured with loose tea leaves, soy sauce, star anise and cinnamon for several hours. I used Tie Guan Yin, the oolong tea named after the Iron Goddess of Mercy that's beloved for its delicate, orchid-like perfume. Off heat, the eggs are left to sit in the aromatic infusion, which further develops their flavour and mottled patina. I gingerly peel the eggshells off after a 12-hour soak - you could leave them for an even longer period if a deeper colour is desired - and serve them with roasted Sichuan pepper-salt.

Roast Tiger Prawns with White Tea Oil & Spiced Tea SaltThis is based on a recipe from Tetsuya Wakuda's book. Large tiger prawns, beheaded and de-veined, are split lengthwise and seasoned with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and tea - I used silvery needles of the white tea known as Pai Mu Dan (White Peony), grinding the tea to a fine dust with a spice mill. The prawns are roasted in a very hot oven for a couple of minutes, emerging succulent and juicy, and garnished with shreds of toasted nori. Delicious as they are, I couldn't resist serving them with a spiced salt not unlike the Japanese goma shio condiment. Making it was as simple as stirring together some fine sea salt with pinches of aonori (fine nori seaweed flakes), sansho (the ground spice made from the prickly ash pod), crushed dried red chillies, toasted black sesame, and last but not least, ground white tea.

Jasmine Tea Smoked PoussinLucid and highly detailed instructions for smoking all manner of poultry using equipment no fancier than an old battered wok can be found in both of Barbara Tropp's wonderful books, the China Moon Cookbook and The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking. I used several poussin, each of which makes for a perfectly-sized individual serving, providing every diner with an ideal package of skin and flesh to chew and bone to gnaw. The baby birds are thoroughly massaged with roasted Sichuan pepper-salt and tangerine peel, stuffed with crushed scallions and ginger, and left to marinate overnight before being steamed till partially cooked. They are then smoked over a mixture made up of equal parts tea leaves, brown sugar and raw rice. Ring the changes with your choice of tea and additional spices to flavour the smoke - I added Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon, tangerine peel, star anise and cloves to the basic smoking mixture, and used large-leaf semi-fermented jasmine tea, which made for plumes of smoke with a heady incense-like redolence. I pull the plump poussin out of the wok when they've turned a rich amber hue - colouring is a good gauge of degree of flavour intensity whensmoking. If you're after only the faintest whiff of smoke, pull them out when they're pale gold. If you like it pungent, wait till they're a deep mahogany. Enhance their lacquered sheen with a light glossing of fragrant sesame oil and devour warm, tepid, or best of all, cold. Ethereal is the only word to describe the experience of sensuously perfumed skin and melt-in-the-mouth fat melding into silken tender flesh with each bite.

Chazuke Tea RiceThis is comfort food at its homely, soothing best. Hot cooked japonica rice is topped with some preserved fish - I used a mixture of shio sake (salted salmon) and tarako (salted cod roe) - crumbled toasted nori and sesame seeds. At the table, hot Japanese green tea - typically bancha, but I like using genmai-cha, the blend of coarse green bancha leaves and grains of roasted popped rice, whose nutty flavour I find wonderful in the dish - is poured over the garnished rice, the whole stirred together with chopsticks and relished alongside Japanese pickles and wasabi. Depending on your toppings - slices of rare beef, smoked eel, sashimi-grade salmon or sea bream are also nice - chazuke can be as grand or as humble as you wish.

Matcha Panna Cotta with Langue du ChatHaving recently read my copy of Okakura Kakuzo's classic The Book of Tea again, with its riveting account of Zen Buddhism and chado, the Way of Tea, I wanted to make something sweet using matcha, the powdered green tea used in the etiquette and ritual steeped tea ceremony by whipping with a bamboo whisk to a luxuriant froth. Nothing as intricate as some wagashi style confectionery, but an easy panna cotta adapted from a recipe in Jane Lawson's Yoshoku (yoshoku refers to the intriguing style of Japanese food which fuses Western and Japanese ingredients and techniques). I topped the softly set cream, dreamy in its pale celadon beauty, with a tiny dollop of whipped heavy cream and marron glace, candied chestnuts. And on the side, an intensely buttery tongue of langue du chat.

46 Comments:

Wow. I'm certain that this must be the most impressive IMBB entry I've ever seen! Everything looks so elegant and delicious, with great attention to detail. I'd love to try them all sometime. I'd be difficult to choose just one because they all look spectacular. Wonderful composition in your photos too. Thanks so much for embracing this month's IMBB theme to the fullest!

J - this is so unfair!!! Some of us are trying to decide between two tea-flavoured cakes, and then you come and post a long and amazingly impressive menu covering all courses! Very discouraging to some of us:)Beautiful. I'm speechless..

Very impressive indeed, well thought out and beautifully executed. I am completely in awe. The laquer-like finish to the poussin is stunning, and the tiger prawns have inspired me to track down a copy of Tetsuya Wakuda's book. Brava!

Goodness! You've really outdone yourself. Everything looks totally superb! I made marbled tea eggs like those once, but mine didn't turn out nearly as beautiful as yours...I didn't soak them as long...now I know the trick. I'm very impressed with your spread!

I was contemplating making Tetsuya's langoustines also. Is there much flavour with it being roasted with the tea as I felt the recipe focused more on adding the langoustine oil as a flavouring? Your salt sounds wonderful, I made mine with just plain green tea.

I smoked my salmon too and I loved it. Now I know it works for poussin, I must try it as I am hooked on that smoky taste.

You know I was eyeing that Yoshuku book a few weeks back in Kinokuniya. Your wonderful panna cotta is making me rethink whether to get it. Hopefully they still have it as cookbooks always get solded out so quickly in Kino.

J-You're too much, and I mean that in the best way. :) You have tremendous talent, a flair for writing, and damn, everything just looks too good. I particularly like the poussin. What I'd do for a tan like that! :P

Oh J, I simply don't have words to praise you! Absolutely incredible. I'm almost discouraged from posting now, it would be such an anticlimax. I envy the people who were lucky enough to help you eat all this! :)

Well, what can I say that everybody else has not said yet? I love the pictures. More than anything else that's what I look for first in your posts. I can look at the pictures and imagine the flavours and textures better than with text. This is a wonderful entry and it represents a lot of work. I'm in awe!

hi cath, thanks :) not difficult at all - i line the wok with a triple thickness of heavy duty aluminium foil before adding the smoking mixture (the food is placed atop a rack, which rests about 1.5 inches above the mixture). once smoking is done and the food extracted, i simply wrap up the burnt residue in the wok/foil with the foil and dispose of it immediately. the scent lingers in the kitchen for a couple of hours - shorter if you've an extractor and open windows. as for smoke, the smoking period is fairly short - so unless you're planning to smoke many batches consecutively, there shouldn't be an odour issue...

Dejavu - had dreamt up the exact same recipes had i decided to move along (duck for poussin & scallops for prawns however - am glad i got the eggs and rice correct - but would have been boring by doing some tea sort iced confection)... i am so lucky i never attempted for yours clearly sets the standard - clearly this months IMBB winner should be from Singapore! You certainly have talent - but we knew that already! Lovely post; fantastic writing and excerpts with suitable credits.. but we all know the kitchen diva you are... Truly magnificent

Blimey - I was impressed as soon as I saw the lovely marbled eggs, but when you followed it up with a dazzling array of courses my mind almost buckled under the weight of all that goodness. There's so much that I like here!

Hi there, Jane Lawson here, author of Yoshoku. I hope you enjoyed the panna cotta - I will have to try it with marron glace - yum! great blog I am v pleased indeed to have stumbled across it! ps - You give many stylists a run for their money!Cheers! Jane

Interested in Cooking? Need a new recipe for Thanksgiving or an unusual present for Christmas for the cook that has it all? Let me tell you about a cookbook that is older than you and me together, but still has more value that most cookbooks that are out on the marke these days. It is called America Cookery. It is the first cookbook of American authorship to be printed in the United States. Numerous recipes that adapt traditional dishes by substituting native American ingredients such as corn meal and squash are printed here for the first time, including "Indian Slapjack," "Johny Cake," and "Squash Pudding." Simmons's "Pompkin Pudding," baked in a crust, is the basis for the classic American pumpkin pie. It is awesome. I bought it and y family and friends loved and envied the sudden knowledge that I displayed and the tasty treats that I was able to make with this treasure. Thank you to the person who made it available for immediate download. Happy holidays from Selina and family.

Great Blog! I also have a site about valentine chocolates. You can check it out at valentine chocolates

Also, as a thank you for visiting my site, I'd like to tell you about a great site that is giving away a FREE DVD Camcorder! Just click the following link and enter your Zipcode to see if the promotion is available in your area!